document_title: Divorce in the United States

question_text: percentage of marriages that end in divorce us

text: Divorce in the United States

text: History[edit]

text: 19th century[edit]

text: The women's rights movement extensively debated the issue of whether to allow divorce, with Jane Swisshelm and Elizabeth Cady Stanton as early voices in favor, and Horace Greeley and Antoinette Brown Blackwell opposed. Unlike other issues, the movement was unable to achieve agreement on this issue.[1]:477 Stanton eventually coming to the view that the reform of marriage laws was more important than women's voting rights.[2][3]:156 Lucy Stone changed her position on the issue over time. Against Stanton, she sought to remove the formal advocacy of divorce from any proposed women's platform. Stone wished to keep the subject separate, to prevent the appearance of moral laxity.[3]:72 In government, Robert Dale Owen proposed laws granting greater freedom of divorce.[4] Owen's efforts influenced later laws on divorce.[5] The National Woman Suffrage Association, founded in 1869, advocated for divorce reform among other issues.[1]:488 The concept of "free divorce" developed during the 19th century in conjunction with the concept of free love.[citation needed]

text: 20th century[edit]

text: Prior to the latter decades of the 20th century, a spouse seeking divorce in most states had to show a "fault" such as abandonment, cruelty, incurable mental illness, or adultery. Even in such cases, a divorce was barred in cases such as the suing spouse's procurement or connivance (contributing to the fault, such as by arranging for adultery), condonation (forgiving the fault either explicitly or by continuing to cohabit after knowing of it), or recrimination (the suing spouse also being guilty).

text: Because divorce was considered to be against the public interest, civil courts refused to grant a divorce if evidence revealed any hint of complicity between the husband and wife to divorce, or if they attempted to manufacture grounds for a divorce. Divorce was granted only because one party to the marriage had violated a sacred vow to the "innocent spouse."  If both husband and wife were guilty, "neither would be allowed to escape the bonds of marriage."[6]

text: A number of strategems were devised to make divorce easier to obtain. "[T]here were numerous ‘divorce mill’ states or places such as Indiana, Utah, and the Dakotas where you could go and get a divorce. Many towns provided accommodation, restaurants, bars and events centered on this trade."[7] By 1909, however, Reno, Nevada was, and was happy to be, "the divorce capital of the world." At that time, only six months in Nevada were sufficient to establish Nevada residency, and the Nevada courts, well aware of the contribution of divorce seekers to Nevada's hospitality industry, accepted the resident's uncorrobated statement that grounds for divorce, usually "extreme cruelty," existed. In 1927, the Nevada Legislature, "in response to a perceived threat to Reno’s divorce supremacy from France and Mexico and a divorce-trade war that had been going on since the end of World War I between Nevada, Idaho, and Arkansas," changed the residency period to three months, and in 1931, the same Legislature that voted in "wide-open gambling" dropped it to six weeks.[8] The U.S. Supreme Court, in Williams v. North Carolina (1942), ruled that other states had to recognize these divorces, under the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution.

text: By 1916, the U.S. led the world in number of divorces.[9] In populous New York State, where adultery was the easiest grounds for divorce, attorneys would provide a package consisting of a prostitute and a photographer, with whose product divorce could be obtained.[10] Significant numbers of divorce seekers went to the cities on the Mexican side of the Mexico-U.S. border, or to Haiti,[11] where they found welcoming attorneys, who sometimes advertised in the U.S. The prevalence of the practice is reflected in the song "Haitian Divorce," by Steely Dan.

text: By the 1960s, due to[citation needed] the emergence of second wave feminism, the use of collusive or deceptive practices to bypass the fault system had become a widespread concern, if not actually a widespread practice, and there was widespread agreement that something had to change. The National Association of Women Lawyers was instrumental in convincing the American Bar Association to help create a Family Law section in many state courts, and pushed strongly for no-fault divorce law around 1960 (cf. Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act). In 1969, California became the first U.S. state to pass a no-fault divorce law.[12]

text: The National Center for Health Statistics reports that from 1975 to 1988 in the US, in families with children present, wives file for divorce in approximately two-thirds of cases.  In 1975, 71.4% of the cases were filed by women, and in 1988, 65% were filed by women.[13]

text: Lenore Weitzman's 1985 book, The Divorce Revolution, reported a one-year post-divorce decline in standard of living for women of 73% compared with a 42% one-year post-divorce increase in standard of living for men. Richard Peterson later calculated a 27% decrease in standard of living for women and a 10% increase of standard of living for men, using the same data, which were gathered in California in 1977 and 1978.[14]

text: 21st century[edit]

text: The median length for a marriage in the US today is 11 years with 90% of all divorces being settled out of court. However, studies have shown that lower-income couples are currently more likely to get a divorce than higher-income couples. The divorce rate among highly educated couples is 11%, while the divorce rate for lower income couples is 17%.[15]

text: In 2015, the Manhattan Supreme Court ruled that Ellanora Baidoo could serve her husband divorce papers through a Facebook message, and she became the first woman to legally serve her husband divorce papers via Facebook.[16][17]

text: Law[edit]

text: Divorce in the U.S. is governed by state rather than federal law. The laws of the state(s) of residence at the time of divorce govern, not those of the location where the couple was married. All states recognize divorces granted by any other state. All states impose a minimum time of residence to file for a divorce,[18] Nevada and Idaho currently being the shortest at six weeks.[19][20]

text: All states allow no-fault divorce on grounds such as irreconcilable differences, irremediable breakdown, and loss of affection. Some states mandate a separation period before no-fault divorce. Mississippi, South Dakota and Tennessee are the only states that require mutual consent for no-fault divorce. The rest of the states permit unilateral no-fault divorce.[12][21][22]

text: Since the mid-1990s, a few states have enacted covenant marriage laws, which allow couples to voluntarily make a divorce more difficult for themselves to obtain than usual. For example, couples who choose to undertake a covenant marriage may be required to undergo counseling before a divorce can be granted, or to submit their conflicts to mediation. In states lacking such provisions, some couples sign contracts undertaking the same obligations.[citation needed]

text: A summary (or simple) divorce, available in some jurisdictions, is used when spouses meet certain eligibility requirements, or can agree on key issues beforehand. For example, in order to qualify for summary divorce in California, a couple must meet all of the following requirements:

text:
Have been married less than five years,
Have no children together,
Do not own any real property,
Do not rent any real property other than current dwelling,
Do not owe more than $6,000 for debts since date of marriage,
Own less than $41,000 in community property (property acquired during marriage), not counting vehicles,
Do not own more than $41,000 in separate property (property acquired before marriage), not counting vehicles,
Agree to forgo spousal support,
Have a signed agreement which divides property (including cars) and debts, and
Meet residency requirement, if applicable.[23]

text: Grounds for divorce[edit]

text: Though divorce laws vary between jurisdiction,[18] there are two basic approaches to divorce: fault-based and no-fault. Fault grounds, when available, are sometimes still sought. This may be done where it reduces the waiting period otherwise required, or possibly in hopes of affecting decisions related to a divorce, such as child custody, child support, alimony, and so on. A court may still take into account the behavior of the parties when dividing property, debts, evaluating custody, and support. States vary in the admissibility of such evidence for those decisions.

text: No-fault divorce[edit]

text: Under a no-fault divorce system the dissolution of a marriage does not require an allegation or proof of fault of either party. Only three states (Mississippi, South Dakota and Tennessee) require mutual consent (in Tennessee it is needed only in certain circumstances) for a no-fault divorce to be granted.[12][21][22] No-fault grounds for divorce include incompatibility, irreconcilable differences, and irremediable breakdown of the marriage.

text: At-fault divorce[edit]

text: Fault divorces used to be the only way to break a marriage, and people who had differences, but did not qualify as "at fault", only had the option to separate (and were prevented from legally remarrying).

text: However, there are ways (defenses) to prevent a fault divorce:

text:
Collusion
Condonation
Connivance
Provocation
Recrimination

text: A defense is expensive, and not usually practical as eventually most divorces are granted.

text: Comparative rectitude is a doctrine used to determine which spouse is more at fault when both spouses are guilty of breaches.

text: Jurisdiction[edit]

text: In the United States, the Federal Government does not have the authority to issue a divorce. The state has the only authority over issuing accepting a marriage, and issuing a divorce.  This creates the question of which state can you get divorced in?  All states have rules for jurisdiction, which is typically a time frame the person filing the divorce has lived in the state.[24]   Most states require the person filing for a divorce to be a physical resident of the state for six months.  Some states require twelve months and some states, like Nevada,  only require six weeks.   Without proper jurisdiction a state cannot issue a divorce.

text: Property division and spousal support[edit]

text: States vary in their rules for division of assets in a divorce. The major difference is between states that use a community property system and states that do not. In community property states, community property belongs to the spouses equally.[25] The following states use community property regimes: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Alaskan law gives couples the option to create community property by written agreement.[26]

text: Most community property states start with the presumption that community assets will be divided equally, whereas "equitable distribution" states presume fairness may dictate more or less than half of the assets will be awarded to one spouse or the other.  Commonly, assets acquired before marriage are considered individual, and assets acquired after, marital. Depending on the state, an equitable or equal division of assets is then sought.[27]

text: In some states, educational degrees earned during the marriage may be considered marital property.  In such states, a resolution of the divorce will often entail payment from the educated spouse to the other spouse a share of their expected future earnings that are due to a degree they earned during the marriage,[28] and may require the expertise of labor economists or other statistical and financial experts.

text: Alimony, also known as 'maintenance' or 'spousal support' is still being granted in many cases, especially in longer term marriages. Alimony is more likely in cases where a spouse has remedial needs that must be met in order for the spouse to become fully employable, for example that one spouse gave up career opportunities or development in order to devote themselves to the family.

text: Child support and custody[edit]

text: In cases involving children, governments have a pressing interest in ensuring that disputes between parents do not spill over into the family courts.  All states now require parents to file a parenting plan, or to decide on custody and visitation either by reaching a written agreement or in a court hearing, when they legally separate or divorce.

text: The spouse given custody (or the spouse with the greater share of residence time in the case of joint custody), may receive assets to compensate their greater child-care expenses.

text: Alternatives to litigation[edit]

text: Collaborative divorce[edit]

text: Collaborative divorce (uncontested divorce) is becoming a popular method for divorcing couples to come to agreement on divorce issues. In a collaborative divorce, the parties negotiate an agreed resolution with the assistance of attorneys who are trained in the collaborative divorce process and in mediation, and often with the assistance of a neutral financial specialist and/or divorce coach(es). The parties are empowered to make their own decisions based on their own needs and interests, but with complete information and full professional support. Once the collaborative divorce starts, the lawyers are disqualified from representing the parties in a contested legal proceeding, should the collaborative law process end prematurely. Most attorneys who practice collaborative divorce claim that it can be substantially less expensive than other divorce methods (regular divorce or mediation). However, should the parties not reach any agreements, any documents or information exchanged during the collaborative process cannot later be used in further legal proceedings, as the collaborative process is confidential proceedings. Furthermore, there are no set enforceable time lines for completion of a divorce using collaborative divorce.

text: Mediated divorce[edit]

text: Divorce mediation is an alternative to traditional divorce litigation that attempts to help opposing spouses find common ground during the divorce process.[29][30] In a divorce mediation session, a mediator facilitates the discussion between the husband and wife by assisting with communication and providing information and suggestions to help resolve differences.  At the end of the mediation process, the separating parties will have typically developed a tailored divorce agreement that they can submit to the court. Parties to mediation do not need to retain attorneys.  However, if the parties choose to retain attorneys their attorneys may be included in the mediation session. The mediator can provide  both parties with information but will not offer advice to either. Divorce mediators may be attorneys, mental health professionals, or financial experts who have experience in divorce cases.  Divorce mediation can be significantly less expensive than litigation.  The adherence rate to mediated agreements is much higher than that of adherence to court orders.

text: Summary divorce[edit]

text: Many states allow for couples to file for a summary divorce based upon a jointly filed divorce petition.  A summary divorce means the spouses have discussed the terms required by state law to issue a divorce and they have reached an mutual agreement.   Almost, every state allow for this type of "uncontested" divorce.[31][32] An uncontested joint divorce petition will often save a divorcing couple both time and money.

text: Federal laws relating to divorce[edit]

text: Since the 1980s, federal legislation has been enacted affecting the rights and responsibilities of divorcing spouses. For example, federal welfare reform mandated the creation of child support guidelines in all 50 states in the 1980s. ERISA includes provisions for the division of qualified retirement accounts between divorcing spouses. The IRS established rules on ignoring alimony as a source of taxable income. Federal bankruptcy laws prohibit discharging in bankruptcy of alimony and child support obligations. COBRA allows a divorced spouse to obtain and maintain health insurance.

text: Qualified Domestic Relations Orders[edit]

text: A “qualified domestic relations order” (QDRO) is an order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee’s right to receive, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to receive, all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a retirement plan, and that includes certain information and meets certain other requirements.[33]

text: A domestic relations order is a judgment, decree, or order (including the approval of a property settlement) that is made pursuant to state domestic relations law (including community property law) and that relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights for the benefit of a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a participant.

text: A state authority, generally a court, must actually issue a judgment, order, or decree or otherwise formally approve a property settlement agreement before it can be a domestic relations order under ERISA. The mere fact that a property settlement is agreed to and signed by the parties will not, in and of itself, cause the agreement to be a domestic relations order.

text: Statistics[edit]

text: Initiation[edit]

text:
According to a study published in the American Law and Economics Review, women file slightly more than two-thirds of divorce cases in the US.[34]
There is some variation among states, and the numbers have also varied over time, with about 60% of filings by women in most of the 20th century, and over 70% by women in some states just after no-fault divorce was introduced, according to the paper.

text: Custody[edit]

text: In their 1997 study titled "Child Custody Policies and Divorce Rates in the US," Kuhn and Guidubaldi find it reasonable to conclude that women anticipate advantages to being single, rather than remaining married.[35] In their detailed analysis of divorce rates, Kuhn and Guidubaldi conclude that acceptance of joint physical custody may reduce divorce.  States whose family law policies, statutes, or judicial practice encourage joint custody have shown a greater decline in their divorce rates than those that favor sole custody.

text: Rates of divorce[edit]

text: "Rate of divorce" usually refers to the number of divorces that occur in the population during a given period.  However it is also used in common parlance to refer to the likelihood of a given marriage ending in divorce (as opposed to the death of a spouse).

text: In 2002 (latest survey data as of 2012),[36] 29% of first marriages among women aged 15–44 were disrupted (ended in separation, divorce or annulment) within 10 years.[37] Beyond the 10-year window, population survey data is lacking, but forecasts and estimates provide some understanding. It is commonly claimed that half of all marriages in the United States eventually end in divorce, an estimate possibly based on the fact that in any given year, the number of marriages is about twice the number of divorces.[38]  Amato outlined in his study on divorce that in the late of 1990s, about 43% to 46% of marriages were predicted to end in dissolution. According to his research, there is only a small percentage of marriages end in permanent separation rather than divorce[39]. Using 1995 data, National Survey of Family Growth forecast in 2002 a 43% chance that first marriages among women aged 15–44 would be disrupted within 15 years.[36] More recently, having spoken with academics and National Survey of Family Growth representatives, PolitiFact.com estimated in 2012 that the lifelong probability of a marriage ending in divorce is 40%–50%.[40]

text: Variables that may affect rates of divorce include:[41]

text:
race/ethnicity
importance of religion to the couple
divorce in family of origin
timing of the first birth of any children (before marriage, within 7 months, after 7 months, or never)
if one spouse has Generalized Anxiety Disorder

text: A 2008 study by Jenifer L. Bratter and Rosalind B. King conducted on behalf of the Education Resources Information Center examined whether crossing racial boundaries increased the risk of divorce.[42] Using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (Cycle VI), the likelihood of divorce for interracial couples to that of same-race couples was compared. Comparisons across marriage cohorts revealed that, overall, interracial couples have higher rates of divorce, particularly for those that married during the late 1980s.[42] The authors found that gender plays a significant role in interracial divorce dynamics: According to the adjusted models predicting divorce as of the 10th year of marriage, interracial marriages that are the most vulnerable involve White females and non-White males (with the exception of White females/Hispanic White males) relative to White/White couples.[42] White wife/Black husband marriages are twice as likely to divorce by the 10th year of marriage compared to White/White couples.[42] Conversely, White men/non-White women couples show either very little or no differences in divorce rates.[42] Asian wife/White husband marriages show only 4% greater likelihood of divorce by the 10th year of marriage than White/White couples.[42] In the case of Black wife/White husband marriages, divorce by the 10th year of marriage is 44% less likely than among White/White unions.[42] Intermarriages that did not cross a racial barrier, which was the case for White/Hispanic White couples, showed statistically similar likelihoods of divorcing as White/White marriages.[42]

text: A 2011 study at the University of Iowa found that a woman's loss of virginity before age 18 was correlated with a greater number of occurrences of divorce within the first 10 years of marriage.[43]

text: A 2012 study cited by Pew Research center found that an estimated 78% of women with bachelor's degrees, and 65% of men with bachelor's degrees who married between 2006-2010 can expect their marriages to last at least two decades. Women with a high school degree or less, on the other hand, face a meager 40% probability of their marriages surviving the same period.[44]

text: Studies have shown that men who "earn high incomes have a decreased probability of getting a divorce". However, higher income makes a woman's chances of marriage less likely and it has no connection to possible divorces.[45] In recent years, divorce rates have gone down due to education rates going up. This is because educated individuals make higher incomes in most cases, which result in less financial stress when couples set down to get married.[46] Lower income couples value and respect marriage just as much as higher income couples, however lower income couples are more likely to get a divorce because of financial strains on their marriage.[47] Having low income is not the only factor that can potentially lead to divorce. Religious beliefs, morals and compatibility all come into play when it comes to long term marital statuses.[48]

text: Divorce rate by state[edit]

text: The following lists the number of divorces annually per 1,000 population in each state:

text:
State
Marriage rate
Divorce rate[1]

1999
2000
2006
2008
2010
2011
1999
2000
2006
2008
2010
2011[49]
2012

Alabama

10.6
9.8
10.8
10.1
9.4
9.8
6.1
6.0
5.7
5.5
5.4
4.3
5.4

Alaska

10.2
9.0
8.6
8.9
8.1
8.3
5.5
5.0
5.0
3.9
4.3
4.8
4.6

Arizona

10.0
8.8
8.2
7.5
7.5
6.6
6.9
6.2
4.6
4.6
4.0
3.9
4.7

Arkansas

15.3
14.4
14.8
15.4
14.3
14.3
6.9
6.3
6.2
6.4
6.2
5.3
6.2

California[2]

7.9
6.3
6.4
5.8
6.5
6.2
4.3
–
–
–
–
-
–

Colorado

9.8
9.0
8.2
8.3
8.2
7.9
5.5
4.8
4.7
4.7
4.7
4.4
–

Connecticut

7.9
6.6
5.8
5.7
5.4
5.7
3.2
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.3

Delaware

8.4
7.3
6.7
6.5
6.5
6.4
4.4
5.0
4.5
3.9
3.9
3.6
3.5

District of Columbia

8.2
6.1
6.6
4.9
6.2
5.1
4.5
3.2
3.6
3.2
2.9
2.9
2.4

Florida

10.9
9.9
8.7
8.9
9.2
9.4
6.3
5.5
5.1
5.1
5.2
4.5
5.1

Georgia

10.3
8.4
7.8
6.8
6.1
6.5
5.5
5.1
4.1
3.3
3.1
-
2.5

Hawaii

16.4
15.7
18.9
20.6
19.6
20.7
4.6
4.6
3.8
3.9
4.0
-
3.7

Idaho

13.9
13.1
12.1
10.8
11.2
10.9
6.5
5.8
5.4
5.5
5.3
4.9
5.3

Illinois

8.8
6.9
7.0
6.9
7.2
6.6
3.8
3.2
3.3
3.2
3.2
2.6
2.9

Indiana

9.6
8.6
8.1
7.9
7.9
7.8
–
–
–
–
–
-
–

Iowa

9.0
7.7
7.9
6.9
7.1
6.9
3.9
3.7
3.3
3.3
3.3
2.4
3.1

Kansas

9.2
8.5
7.1
8.3
7.5
7.3
5.0
4.1
3.4
3.6
3.4
3.9
3.6

Kentucky

13.5
12.2
10.9
9.8
9.0
9.0
5.8
5.9
5.5
5.1
5.1
4.4
5.2

Louisiana

9.6
9.3
9.1
9.1
8.4
8.2
–
–
–
–
–
-
–

Maine

9.7
8.7
8.
8.8
8.6
8.4
4.3
4.4
5.1
5.0
4.7
4.2
4.6

Maryland

9.7
8.4
7.5
7.5
7.0
7.1
3.4
3.0
3.2
3.3
2.9
2.9
3.4

Massachusetts

7.9
7.1
6.2
5.8
6.2
5.9
2.8
2.2
2.5
2.5
2.4
2.7
2.5

Michigan

8.2
7.3
6.8
6.7
6.6
6.5
4.3
4.1
3.8
3.9
3.9
3.4
3.8

Minnesota

7.7
7.0
6.8
6.8
6.6
6.5
3.5
3.4
3.2
3.2
3.2
-
3.1

Mississippi

9.4
7.9
7.8
6.9
6.5
6.4
5.5
4.8
5.0
5.0
5.0
4.0
4.9

Missouri

9.6
8.3
8.1
7.8
7.5
7.3
5.1
5.0
4.4
4.5
4.2
3.9
4.0

Montana

8.6
7.6
7.4
7.3
7.1
7.2
5.1
4.8
2.8
4.2
4.2
4.0
4.0

Nebraska

8.0
7.3
7.5
7.6
7.9
7.5
4.0
3.8
3.7
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.6

Nevada

9.9
8.5
8.2
7.2
6.9
6.7
11.4
7.8
7.8
9.9
6.3
5.6
7.1

New Hampshire

9.5
8.3
7.9
9.4
8.4
8.3
4.7
4.2
5.1
4.8
4.4
2.9
4.3

New Jersey

7.6
6.5
5.9
6.0
6.4
6.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.3
2.9
3.4

New Mexico

8.8
8.8
8.0
8.0
7.6
7.9
4.9
6.6
4.6
5.1
4.9
3.3
4.4

New York

8.6
8.0
7.3
7.1
7.6
7.3
3.2
3.0
3.3
3.0
3.5
2.9
3.4

North Carolina

7.8
8.4
8.5
8.2
7.5
7.7
5.1
5.0
4.6
4.5
4.6
3.7
4.5

North Dakota

7.5
7.1
6.6
7.2
6.5
6.8
3.6
3.4
4.4
3.4
2.9
2.7
3.0

Ohio

9.0
8.0
7.8
7.8
7.2
7.0
4.7
4.3
3.9
4.2
4.0
3.4
4.0

Oklahoma

10.6
8.6
6.8
7.7
6.6
–
–
–
–
–
–
5.2
–

Oregon

8.9
8.1
7.6
7.6
7.5
7.1
5.5
4.7
4.6
4.8
4.8
3.8
4.6

Pennsylvania

7.1
6.2
6.1
6.0
5.8
5.7
3.3
3.2
3.1
3.1
3.1
2.8
3.1

Rhode Island

8.1
7.3
7.5
7.6
8.1
7.7
3.7
3.6
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.2
3.2

South Carolina

15.9
11.9
10.2
10.6
9.9
9.3
4.5
3.9
3.8
3.8
3.6
3.2
3.4

South Dakota

11.1
9.9
9.1
9.4
8.9
8.8
3.7
3.9
3.7
3.5
3.3
3.3
3.3

Tennessee

13.9
15.5
14.7
15.5
13.5
13.1
6.5
6.2
5.8
5.9
5.2
4.3
5.1

Texas

10.5
9.9
9.1
9.4
9.1
8.4
5.5
5.2
3.8
4.0
4.0
3.2
3.9

Utah

11.2
10.7
9.6
10.8
10.2
10.4
5.1
4.4
4.0
4.3
4.2
3.7
4.1

Vermont

10.9
10.3
10.0
10.0
9.8
9.7
4.5
4.7
4.4
4.1
4.3
3.6
4.2

Virginia

11.4
10.2
9.2
8.8
8.8
8.6
4.4
4.3
4.4
4.3
4.2
3.8
4.2

Washington

9.5
7.7
7.2
6.9
7.0
6.5
5.9
5.4
5.0
4.6
4.5
4.1
4.6

West Virginia

7.2
6.1
7.5
8.7
7.9
8.1
5.3
5.2
4.9
5.1
5.2
5.2
5.2

Wisconsin

7.9
7.0
6.7
6.7
6.5
6.3
3.6
3.4
3.2
3.2
3.2
2.9
3.2

Wyoming

10.7
10.6
9.9
10.0
10.1
9.5
6.6
6.6
5.7
5.8
5.8
4.8
5.4


document_title: Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!

question_text: can't pay we'll take it away season 5 episode 26

question_tokens: ca n 't pay we 'll take it away season 5 episode 26

root

text: Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!

text: Production[edit]

text: The series has been broadcast Channel 5 since 24 February 2014. Their brief of the series says; "With exclusive access to some of the most experienced High Court Enforcement Agents and Repossession Teams in the country, this series is an eye-opening insight into cash-strapped Britain from the perspectives of debtors, creditors and debt collectors.

tag: p

text: Produced by Brinkworth Films, the series and its various spin-offs reveal what it means to be a creditor who cannot get back what they are owed, what it is like to be saddled with debt that you are simply unable to repay and what it takes to be the kind of person who can pay but refuses to do so. Cameras capture the daily hassle of dealing with violent confrontations, tearful debtors, downright liars and genuine cases of hardship. Then there are the debtors, many of whom have some distressing tales to tell of how they got into the situation in the first place. No one wants their possessions confiscated, after all. The result is a unique insight into one of the biggest issues facing those who cannot afford to keep paying the bills".[1]

text: Cast[edit]

text: Present cast[edit]

text:
Paul Bohill (Series 1–present)
Steve Pinner (Series 1–present)
Ben Pinner (Series 1–present)
Stewart McCracken (Series 2–present)
Iain Taylor (Series 2–present)
Elmor "Vic" Victor (Series 3–present)
Gareth Short (Series 4–present)
Mitchell Starr (Series 5–present)
Matthew "Matt" Heighway (Series 5–present)
Garry Ball (Series 5–present)
Gary Brown (Series 5–present)
Cona Jackson (Series 5–present)
Max Carracher (Series 5–present)

tag: ul

text: Former cast[edit]

text:
Mike Allonby (Series 1)
Terry Jones (Series 1)
Graham Aldred (Series 2)
Brian O'Shaughnessy (Series 2–4)
Delroy "Del" Anglin (Series 3–5)
Kevin Stokes (Series 3)
Dael Anglin (Series 4)
Craig Vernall (Series 4)

text: Guest cast[edit]

text:
Steve Wood (Series 1)
Phil Short (Series 2—4)
Rupesh Pabari (Series 4)
Alan Hunt (Series 4)
Aron Graves (Series 5)

text: Episode list[edit]

text:
Series
Episodes
Originally aired

First aired
Last aired

1
5
24 February 2014
8 April 2014

2
12
17 September 2014
19 November 2014

3
14
14 April 2015
23 December 2015

4
26
13 April 2016
30 November 2016

5
?
22 March 2017
2018

tag: table

text: Series 1 (2014)[edit]

text: The first series introduces five initial cast members: Paul Bohill, Steve Pinner, Mike Allonby, Terry Jones, and Steve Wood. The day after the broadcast of the first programme, Allonby died aged 47 at his home in Wales.[2] Both Jones and Wood subsequently only appeared in the first series, with Bohill and Pinner (High Court Solutions) the only two cast members who went on to appear in series two. The first three episodes became the most watched programme on the channel that week, with episodes four and five placing at second and third, respectively.[3]

text:
Episode
Title
Viewers
(millions)
Original airdate

1
"Episode 1"
2.06
24 February 2014

Mike and Terry head to Liverpool to seize a Renault Clio from a debtor who has refused to pay his bill, but the debtor suddenly becomes violent. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attend the eviction of an army veteran whose other outstanding debts have resulted in the repossession of his house, and later to Slough to deal with a troublesome family of sitting tenants who refuse to believe the powers of the High Court.[4]

2
"Episode 2"
2.19
3 March 2014

Mike and Terry travel to Cheshire to seize a vehicle from a woman who owes several hundred pounds on a loan, and Mike shows his softer side. Later, they head to Liverpool to recover a vehicle which the owner has failed to keep up the repayments for, and find his son very co-operative. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attend an eviction in East London in the week leading up to Christmas, but find a friend house-sitting for the absent debtor. Later, they head to Essex to track down the tenants of a country estate who owe their landlord more than £10,000 – but have since disappeared.[5]

3
"Episode 3"
1.88
10 March 2014

Paul and Steve are tasked to evict a vulnerable pair of hoarders, whose cost of damage to the property is being added onto their debt. Later, they attend the eviction of a young woman with a child, who has failed to keep up with her rent payments, and has fallen to arrears, and also find that a writ to seize a taxi has been made out to the wrong man, but under law, are forced to serve the writ anyway. Meanwhile, Steve Wood has to repossess a classic corner shop, but finds that the condition of the property may cause more problems for the landlord.[6]

4
"Episode 4"
1.55
17 March 2014

Paul and Steve attend an eviction of a house with poor living conditions, but have a decision to make when the eviction runs into nightfall. On their travels, they evict two groups of tenants from a house which the landlord is looking to renovate, but one family are not being very co-operative; attempt to reclaim more than £25,000 from a Chinese businessman who has fallen on hard times and is facing bankruptcy; and attend a flat eviction in an expensive area of London, and attempt to secure the tenants a holiday lease allowing them to return.[7]

5
"Final Demand Special"
1.69
8 April 2014

Paul and Steve attend an eviction in Buckinghamshire where the tenant owes more than £26,000 in rent on his country estate residence. Later, they deal with a family of sitting tenants in a £5 million house which is due to be demolished by the developers of the site. Meanwhile, we catch up with three previous debtors to see how life has been for them since the programme aired. Cases featured include the violent car owner from episode 1, the woman who defaulted on her loan repayments from episode 2, and the taxi driver who had a writ written out against him instead of his brother from episode 3.[8]

text: Series 2 (2014)[edit]

text: The second series sees the introduction of five new cast members – Ben Pinner, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Graham Aldred, Iain Taylor and Stuart McCracken. Paul Bohill and Steve Pinner are the only two returning cast members from the first series. Every episode of the series ranked in the top three most watched programmes on the channel that week.[3]

text:
Episode
Title
Viewers
(millions)
Original airdate

1
"Episode 1"
1.52
17 September 2014

Brian and Graham attend an eviction in South London where trouble is expected – but the eviction goes smoothly until they find a cannabis factory. Later, they visit a Polish Deli to reclaim money on a debt owed to a former supplier, but it's the debtor's wife who has to face their wrath. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attend an eviction where a young mother of two is being evicted from her flat, and make an unexpected decision to allow her to stay, and later, they speak to a freelance employer who is refusing to cough up the unpaid wages of one of his ex-employees, and is still refusing to pay.

2
"Episode 2"
1.68
24 September 2014

Stuart and Iain attempt to reclaim a debt owed by a builder, but are threatened with violence by the man and his friends from the building site. Later, they visit the owner of a pet shop who owes a substantial amount of money to a former supplier, but tries to raise funds to pay the debt. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve deal with the unpaid debt of former professional footballer Neil Ruddock, who owes money to his local dog kennels. Later, they attend the eviction of a school dinner lady who has been given no prior warning of her eviction by her landlord.

3
"Episode 3"
1.85
1 October 2014

Paul and Steve evict a young woman with two children, a task that takes a turn for the worse when her violent ex-partner makes an appearance. Later, they serve a writ on a family who have to pay damages to a former employee, and seize a number of expensive vehicles towards repayment. Meanwhile, Stuart and Iain find themselves in a spot of bother when some angry locals threaten a riot over an unpaid debt at a Liverpool computer shop. Later, they chase down an unemployed decorator who owes more than £3,500 in legal costs, but finds he has no assets to seize and no money.

4
"Episode 4"
1.8
8 October 2014

Brian and Graham head to Wembley, North London to repossess a car owned by a man who owes more than £3,000 to a telephone communications company. Later, they head to Reading to deal with the owner of a dry-cleaning business who has run up a substantial debt for non-payment of rent. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attempt to reclaim £30,000 in rent arrears from a man described by his tenants as a member of a ruthless and possibly violent gang, and later head to Essex to evict a young mum and her two children for non-payment of rent, but discover that she has nowhere to go.

5
"Episode 5"
1.83
15 October 2014

Paul and Steve head to Essex to evict a family for non-payment of rent, but discover a dispute with the letting agent has led to the eviction. Later, they head to North London to evict a Somalian refugee who speaks very little English from her flat which the landlord is repossessing. Meanwhile, Stuart and Iain are faced with threats of violence when they try to reclaim a debt of over £3,000 against the owner of a minicab business, and later deal with the owner of a car dealership who has to choose between repaying his debt or losing vehicles from his showroom.

6
"Episode 6"
1.57
22 October 2014

Paul, Steve and Ben attempt to evict a gang of squatters taking up residence in a central London office block, but struggle to enter the property. Later, they head to the North London home of a heavily pregnant tenant and her family, whom they are forced to evict due to non-payment of rent. Meanwhile, Stuart and Iain are confronted by the family and friends of a debtor in Surrey, who threaten violence against them if they try to seize any assets. Later, they deal with the owner of a horse riding sanctuary who owes a substantial amount of money to one of her former apprentices.

7
"Episode 7"
1.85
29 October 2014

Paul and Steve make an interesting discovery during an eviction at a flat in London's Docklands, where they find $8.5 million in counterfeit notes. Later, Ben joins Paul as they head to Biggin Hill, Kent, to evict a family which they have been told have no children, only to find six children living at the property. Meanwhile, Brian and Graham find themselves in a spot of bother at Swindon Town Football Club as they try to reclaim money on an unpaid debt for seating, and later hunt for a debtor whose business is in the centre of a storage unit facility, but the manager refuses to allow them entry.

8
"Episode 8"
1.63
5 November 2014

Paul and Ben are called in to evict squatters from a residential property, but it soon becomes clear that the property is being used as a brothel. Later, Steve joins Paul to evict a woman living a property which has already been sold by the landlord, although she has nowhere to go. Later, they attend a flat in East London where they must evict a refugee family who have been seeking new accommodation for several months. Meanwhile, Brian and Graham arrive at a restaurant in north London to collect unpaid rent, but the debtor refuses to pay until Brian starts to remove goods. They later attend a Korean education school to collect unpaid rent, but the debtors make accusations to the police that they have been violent.

9
"Episode 9"
1.43
12 November 2014

Brian and Graham head to a Brighton health spa to speak to seize assets against the debt of £20,000 for unpaid legal costs against the owner. On their travels, they also head to South London to find a man who owes £1,600, but have trouble when his wife tries to throw them off the scent; to Sussex to speak to a young mother who has defaulted on a debt payment plan, where Graham shows his softer side; and to Dunsfold to reclaim money owed to a telephone answering service, but find the debtor about to visit his motherʼs grave.

10
"Episode 10: Eviction Special"
1.26
19 November 2014

Paul and Steve attend an eviction with a twist when they discover that the landlord trying to reclaim the property is the debtor's mother. On their travels, they also attend the eviction of a multi-occupancy house where they find a group of tenants who have issues with their immigration status; are forced to evict a man with a history of mental illness, and call on the help of a local minister to persuade the tenant to leave; and attend the eviction of the last remaining tenant in an apartment block which is currently under renovation by the landlord.

text: Series 3 (2015)[edit]

text: Cast member Kevin Stokes confirmed on Twitter that the returning cast for the third series was as follows: Paul Bohill, Steve Pinner, Ben Pinner, Stewart McCracken, Iain Taylor and Brian O'Shaughnessy. New cast members in this series would include: himself, Delroy Anglin ("Del"), Elmor Victor ("Vic") and Phil Short, who previously appeared in a non-speaking role in series two.[9] Graham Aldred was confirmed as the only cast member from series two to not be returning for the third series. Every episode in series three placed within the top four most-watched programmes on Channel 5 for each respective week. For eight non-consecutive weeks, it was the most watched programme on the channel.[3] Episode 12 had previously been broadcast on 4 August, as part of the "Britain on Benefits" season.

text: In February 2018 a couple whose eviction featured in this series of the show were awarded £20,000 damages against Channel 5 for breaching the couple's privacy during the filming of the eviction.[10]

text:
Episode
Title
Viewers
(millions)[11]
Original airdate

1
"Final Demand Special"
1.35
14 April 2015

Kevin and Dael serve a writ on a man who owes more than £5,000 for an unpaid bill, but the man turns violent and tries to assault Kevin. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve head up an eviction of a mother and her young daughter, whom Paul is forced to help after the council refuse to step in, and Brian and Kevin play a game of cat and mouse with a debtor when he tries to hide his car in a local pub car park to avoid it being seized.

2
"Episode 1"
1.47
30 September 2015

Brian and Kevin attempt to regain more than £16,000 owed by a travel company. However, one of their employees proves to be less than helpful. Later, they travel to Middlesex looking for £4,500 owed by a computer repair shop, but the manager claims the company have ceased trading. Meanwhile, Stuart and Elmor head to Merseyside to attend the eviction of a tenant with a brain tumour who has been unable to pay the rent on his house, and later attend an eviction with a twist – the tenant is in fact the letting agent and has been living in the house under a false name.

3
"Episode 2"
1.38
7 October 2015

Brian and Kevin head to Surrey to obtain £6,000 owed by former business owners, but during the initial confrontation, Brian is assaulted. Later, Dael joins Brian to chase a debt owed to a vet by the owner of an ill pet, but they discover she does not have any goods worth enough to cover the debt. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attend a multi-eviction on a council estate in Barnet, where the tenants are unaware of why they are being made homeless.

4
"Episode 3"
1.54
14 October 2015

Paul and Steve are called to an eviction where the landlord wants to move back into his property, but are greeted by an angry tenant who refuses to leave. Later, they attempt to reclaim more than £11,000 owed by the owners of a family run fish business following a dispute with their neighbours. Meanwhile, Brian and Dael call on a man owing more than £16,000 in maintenance for an aeroplane, but are forced to seize the plane when he is unable to pay the debt. Later, Kevin joins Brian to attend a Turkish restaurant to reclaim £4,500 owed to a company for consultancy fees, but the debtors turn nasty and the police are called.

5
"Episode 4"
1.51
21 October 2015

Paul and Phil head to Kent for an eviction, but when they finally take possession of the house, they discover a full-scale cannabis factory upstairs. Paul later finds himself accused of racism when he and Steve attempt to evict a Kosovan family living in emergency accommodation in North London. Elsewhere, Brian and Dael chase a debt of nearly £3,000 in Hampshire and later attempt to collect almost £5,000 owed by a farmer in Sussex.

6
"Episode 5"
1.5
28 October 2015

Stuart and Elmor deal with a tricky debtor who owes more than £1,000 against a debt previously owed by his small business, Morecambe Textiles. Later, they attempt to collect a debt of £1,600 owed by a self-employed DJ, but discover he may be forced to close his business if he is unable to pay. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attend the eviction of a man in Croydon, only to discover that he is on the way to his aunt's funeral, and the council have refused to rehouse him. Later, they deal with a single mother being evicted by her landlady in Hammersmith after amassing more than £11,000 in rent arrears.

7
"Episode 6"
1.7
4 November 2015

Stuart and Elmor attempt to reclaim a debt owed by a single mother, but are forced to deal with the police after they find two children home alone. Later, they attempt to reclaim a debt owed by the owner of a pizza restaurant, but find themselves being locked inside the premises. Meanwhile, Paul and Phil carry out an eviction of a multi-occupancy property, but encounter problems when they discover it is being run as a brothel. Later, they carry out an eviction in Barnes, North London, where the tenant owes more than £11,000 to the landlord, who is in ill health.

8
"Episode 7"
1.63
11 November 2015

Paul and Steve attend an eviction of a tenant who refuses to move out of her property, despite it already having been sold on by the landlord. Later, Phil joins Paul to turn detective when they arrive an eviction in East London, where they discover the remaining tenant escaping through the back door. Meanwhile, Brian and Kevin deal with a single mother of three who owes a debt of more than £5,000 to a former landlord for damage to his property, and later try to reclaim a debt of over £11,000 owed by a furniture business, but an employee of the company becomes less than helpful.

9
"Episode 8"
1.27
18 November 2015

Stuart and Elmor head to Liverpool for what they expect to be a routine repossession, but instead face the most challenging eviction of their careers. Behind the front door, they find a critically ill two-year-old child with major heart problems, who is on constant life support and unable to breathe without a ventilator. Later, they encounter another family in crisis in Birmingham, where a retired couple who acted as guarantor for their daughter's tenancy are liable to pay over £3,000 after she defaulted. Meanwhile, Brian and Dael chase £2,000 worth of debt owed by a business based in Kent, and recover £4,000 from a recycling business in Buckinghamshire.

10
"Episode 9"
1.38
25 November 2015

Dael and Kevin face a web of deceit in an Italian delicatessen in South London as they chase a huge debt amounting to £29,000. Later, Brian joins Dael to track down a pensioner in Surrey who owes £15,000 for a business he bought four years ago. Meanwhile, Steve and Paul must evict a tenant in North London who has not paid her rent for over 18 months, before heading to Cambridgeshire to make one of their most emotional evictions to date.

11
"Episode 10"
1.18
2 December 2015

Paul and Steve head to Bedfordshire to try to evict a community of travellers who have set up home in a private car park. However, they receive a hostile response and must react to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. Later, they attempt to evict a Romanian family who stopped paying rent seven months ago. Elsewhere, Stuart and Elmor chase a debt of over £3,000 in Merseyside, before trying to recover £5,000 owed by a forklift truck company after an agreement went sour.

12
"Episode 11"
1.42
9 December 2015

Stuart and Iain head to Nottingham to recover a debt of nearly £3,000 in unpaid rent from a Turkish takeaway. Later, Elmor joins Stuart to hunt down one of their biggest debts of the year – £66,000 owed by a businessman. Paul and Phil head to a flat in East London expecting a routine eviction, but get more than they bargained for when they find dodgy wiring, illegal substances, and two men sleeping in squalid conditions. Meanwhile, Steve and Ben try to evict a tenant in West London who has broken the terms of her lease, but suspect a subletting scam when they find that the three-bedroom semi has been converted into tiny bedsits.

13
"Episode 12: Benefits Special"
1.26
16 December 2015

Paul and Steve attend the eviction of a family who owe more than £12,000 in rent arrears, but the situation turns confrontational when the landlord arrives. Later, they are forced to evict a hard-working young nurse who is desperately seeking a home for her young family through no fault of her own. Meanwhile, Brian and Kevin deal with a single mother whose overall debts come to more than £45,000, but is struggling with any form of repayment, and later meet an aggressive debtor recovering from a brain tumour who refuses to pay his dues, despite owing more than £2,000 to a lawyer.

14
"Episode 13: Christmas Special"
1.55
23 December 2015

Steve and Ben attend the eviction of a family of Ethiopian refugees in Crystal Palace, who despite having been up to date with their rent, are being evicted by their landlord. Paul, Steve and Ben carry out an evicition which has occured as the result of an acrimonious divorce that has finally come to a head. Paul, Steve and Ben visit an off-licence who owe more than £6,000 in rent arrears, and the owner battles to keep the shop open just as everything shuts down for the holidays. Paul and Ben carry out an evicition with a twist when they discover a tenant with multiple identities.

text: Series 4A (2016)[edit]

text: In February 2016, cast member Paul Bohill confirmed on Twitter that the cast for the fourth series was as follows: himself, Steve Pinner, Ben Pinner, Stewart McCracken, Iain Taylor, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Delroy Anglin ("Del") and Elmor Victor ("Vic"). The only agent not to return from the third series was Kevin Stokes.[12] Additionally, three further agents appeared in minor roles: Phil Short, Ru Pabari and Alan Hunt, all of whom featured in one episode each. The series was filmed between September and November 2015. Broadcast was later confirmed for 13 April 2016.[13] Additionally, the scheduling for several episodes was changed at the last minute: episode 4 was due to air on 4 May,[14] but for reasons unknown was held over and not broadcast until the end of the series, later subtitled the "Busted" special. The broadcast of episodes 7 & 8 was also switched for reasons unknown.

text:
Episode
Title
Viewers
(millions)
Original airdate

1
"Episode 1"
1.53
13 April 2016

Stewart and Iain attend the eviction of a young mother with two young children, but when her boyfriend threatens them with violence, they are forced to call the police. Later, they evict a businessman from his flat who owes more than £4,000 in rent, but discover he has been living a life of luxury. Meanwhile, Brian and Del call on a young mother who owes a bill of £2,300 for childcare, but discover she has no means of making payment, and later, visit a bachelor whose ex-girlfriend is trying to reclaim £12,000 for an unpaid credit card bill, but discover she has already taken assets worth more than the outstanding debt.

2
"Episode 2"
1.4
20 April 2016

Stewart and Elmor attempt to recover a debt of £2,700 owed by the owner of a garage, but find themselves in a stand-off which quickly turns to violence when the debtor tries to ram them off the property using a pick-up truck. Later, they call on a student nurse who owes £750 on a payday loan, who has defaulted on her repayments. Meanwhile, Steve and Ben are forced to evict an elderly couple who are struggling to keep up with the rent on their three-bedroom semi in Isleworth, and later, Paul joins Steve to chase down a £30,000 debt owed by the Lotus F1 racing team to one of their former suppliers.

3
"Episode 3"
1.52
27 April 2016

Stewart and Iain attend an eviction in Manchester, but on arrival, find the scene crawling with police. A stand-off between the landlord and his tenants then ensues, with some serious threats being made. Later, they call upon a young single parent who is being evicted by her landlord after failing to pay her rent for six months. Meanwhile, Brian and Del attempt to reclaim £3,000 owed to a letting agent, but discover the debtor is an elderly woman claiming disability benefit, and later, they try to reclaim £2,700 owed to an employer after they mistakenly overpaid a former employee, but find themselves forced to seize goods when the debtor refuses to pay.

4
"Episode 4: Busted Special"
1.92
25 July 2016

Steve and Ben attend an eviction of a tenant who owes more than £14,000 in rent, but discover a sub-let scam involving at least five other undisclosed tenants. The situation escalates when the man refuses to leave the property. Later, Paul joins Steve to evict a man who owes nearly £10,000 in rent. When they arrive, he has already vacated the property and is about to leave, but they discover he has left the property in serious disrepair. Brian and Del attempt to reclaim £10,000 owed to a van rental business, but the debtor claims he has no assets – a fact which they later discover is untrue. Later, they call on a woman who owes £6,000 in arrears from her previous property.

5
"Episode 5"
1.63
4 May 2016

Paul and Ben attend the eviction of a tenant suffering from a mental health disorder, but are met with a frosty reception. Brian and Del call upon a man who owes a personal debt of £1,900, but he claims to have no prior knowledge of the debt and doesn't even know the claimant. Later, they call upon a taxi firm who owe nearly £3,000 to a supplier. Having previously settled half of the debt with Stewart and Iain, Brian and Del are forced to return after the debtor defaulted on his repayments. Finally, Steve and new trainee Ru attend an eviction in Portsmouth, but the situation becomes heated when the angry homeowners decide to clear out their entire house onto the pavement outside.

6
"Episode 6"
1.71
11 May 2016

Stewart and Elmor attempt to reclaim a £3,000 debt owed by the owner of a dog kennel business, but when they arrive, Stewart is threatened and angrily confronted by the debtor's dad. Steve and Ben find themselves caught in the emotional eviction of a refugee, who appears to speak very little English. After the eviction, they become concerned for her welfare and try to track her down. Stewart and Elmor try to find a debtor who owes £2,000 for an engine he bought on Ebay, but he tries to outsmart the agents by claiming he knows the law better than they do, before Paul and Steve are forced to break into the property of a tenant who owes nearly £8,000 in unpaid rent.

7
"Episode 7"
1.71
25 May 2016

Paul, Steve, Stewart and Elmor are faced with a potentially volatile situation when they are forced to evict a large scale traveller community in Birmingham, and soon find themselves under attack from children living on the site. Brian and Del attempt to reclaim a £6,000 owed by a jeweller in Hatton Garden, but he tries to claim that the business which owns the debt is no longer trading. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve find themselves in the middle of a tenancy dispute when they try to evict a man and his partner who owe their landlord more than £4,000 in unpaid rent, while Brian and Del visit a debtor who owes nearly £4,000 to a former customer of his web design business.

8
"Episode 8"
1.66
18 May 2016

Paul and Steve evict a tenant who owes more than £8,000 in rent arrears, but discover her property has been sub-let and that she has multiple occupants living there. Brian and Alan attempt to reclaim more than £7,000 from a drainage firm who owe money to a former supplier, but discover the debtor has very few assets to offset the debt. Paul and Steve then attend an eviction in North London, where the tenant has been behind on her rent for nearly six years – but to their surprise find a menagerie of electrical goods including TVs, laptops, games consoles and designer clothing. Brian and Del try to reclaim £38,000 owed by a café owner in unpaid rent.

9
"Episode 9: Big Family Bust Up Special"
1.82
30 May 2016

Stewart and Elmor attempt to reclaim a debt of £6,500 owed by a self-employed builder, but are confronted by his angry parents, who claim that none of the goods in the house belong to him. Meanwhile, Paul and Steve attend an eviction in Tottenham, but are faced with one of their most heartbreaking evictions ever, when the council refuse to provide emergency housing for a mother and her three young children, forcing Paul to take drastic action. Stuart and Elmor then head to Wales in an attempt to reclaim an unpaid debt owed by a plumber, but are forced to seize and remove goods when the debtor makes no attempt to even communicate with the agents.

10
"Episode 10: Secrets and Lies Special"
1.56
6 June 2016

Paul and Steve attend the eviction of a woman with two young children, but find themselves confronted by her angry son, who is convinced that the agents' visit is an hour early. Meanwhile, Brian and Del attempt to reclaim an £11,000 debt owed by a man and his partner for unpaid rent, but are shocked to discover an armoury including samurai swords amongst the debtor's possessions. Paul and Steve evict a family from their home following an ongoing dispute with their landlord, who claims that he has been trying to evict them for more than 16 months. Brian and Del attempt to hunt down an elusive debtor, who has evaded capture before, for a debt of more than £4,500.

text: Series 4B (2016)[edit]

text: Broadcast of fourth series continued after a summer break, and the transmission date was confirmed on 18 August 2016. DCBL subsequently added a page on their website with profiles of each of the agents featured in the series.[15] The cast for the second half of the series remains unchanged, with Bohill, Steve Pinner, Ben Pinner, McCracken, Taylor, O'Shaughnessy, Anglin and Victor all returning. This half-series sees the introduction of one new agent, Dael Anglin, Delroy's son.[citation needed] On 5 October 2016 two further new agents were introduced into the series, Gareth Short and Craig Vernall[citation needed] Episode 8 also saw a guest appearance from Graham Aldred, last seen in series two. Phil Short also guest starred in Episode 9. O'Shaughnessy has since confirmed on Twitter that this series will be his last.[citation needed] The series began filming in February 2016. This half-series featured sixteen episodes.

text:
Episode
Title
Viewers
(millions)
Original airdate

1
"Episode 1"
1.4
31 August 2016

Del and Dael attempt to reclaim £3,500 owed by a man to a van rental business, but on arrival at the property, find themselves in the middle of a bitter dispute between father and son, which leads to death threats. Paul and Steve evict a former actor from his £1,200 a month one-room bedsit following an end-of-tenancy agreement, but are shocked by the quality of his living conditions. Brian and Del attend the King William Hotel in London to reclaim £6,500 owed to a supplier, but are forced to start removing goods when the owner claims he cannot pay. Paul and Steve attend a property repossession in Tottenham, but are caught in the middle of a dispute between tenant and landlord.

2
"Episode 2"
1.77
7 September 2016

Del and Dael visit a printing company to reclaim a debt of £2,000 owed to a dissatisfied customer, but the debtor becomes agitated and physically prevents the agents seizing goods, forcing the police to be called. Stewart and Vic visit a family-owned Barber's shop in a small country village to reclaim £1,100 in unpaid rent, but the debtor denies all knowledge of her arrears. Brian and Del attempt to reclaim £2,000 in unpaid bills owed to a funeral director, but the debtor's revelation that she is unable to pay is furthered hampered by her claim that the agents visit is causing a flare up of her illness. Stewart and Vic then head to Lincolnshire to reclaim £4,400 owed by a computer repair business.

3
"Episode 3"
2.03
14 September 2016

Stewart and Vic attempt to reclaim more than £8,000 owed by a car dealership in Nottingham to an unhappy customer, but are confronted by an aggressive group of employees, one of whom tries to remove a car from their forecourt that Stewart has already seized. Brian and Del head to the Isle of Wight to reclaim £3,700 of estate agency fees owed by a security guard, but Del is assaulted by the debtor's wife. Stewart and Iain try to reclaim £1,900 owed to DCBL by a woman who contracted them to follow up a compensation claim, and Del and Dael attempt to corner an elusive debtor who owes £3,500, but discover that his car, which they could potentially seize, is on false plates.

4
"Breadline Britain Special[16]"
0.76
18 September 2016

A special episode looking back at previous cases featured on the series, as part of Channel 5's "Breadline Britain" day. Paul and Ben attend the eviction of a tenant suffering from a mental health disorder, but are met with a frosty reception. Brian and Del call upon a man who owes a personal debt of £1,900, but he claims to have no prior knowledge of the debt. Later, they call upon a family taxi firm who owe nearly £3,000 to a supplier. Having previously settled half of the debt with Stewart and Iain, Brian and Del are forced to return after the debtor defaulted on his repayments. Finally, Steve and new trainee Ru attend an eviction in Portsmouth, but the situation soon becomes heated.

5
"Episode 4"
1.85
21 September 2016

Del and Dael attempt to reclaim £3,000 owed by an Indian takeaway to a meat supplier, but become embroiled in a game of cat and mouse as the debtor refuses to reveal his identity. Paul and Steve undertake the eviction of a former businesswoman who owes more than £14,000 in rent arrears, who refuses to accept the situation she has found herself in. Del and Dael visit a man who owes £3,800 to a dissatisfied customer whom he sold a car to, but find he has very few assets to seize. When they come across a pair of vehicles, they are shocked to discover that both are worthless. Paul and Steve evict a young woman and her boyfriend who have a history of mental health problems.

6
"Episode 5"
1.84
28 September 2016

Stewart and Vic attempt to reclaim £5,000 owed by a customer to a garage for repair work on a damaged van, but the debtor immediately becomes aggressive and calls upon a local Anti-Bailiff protest group to come and confront the agents. Del and Dael attempt to reclaim nearly £7,000 owed by a man to his ex-girlfriend. When they threaten to remove the debtor's girlfriend's possessions, the situation becomes heated. Stewart and Vic attempt to reclaim £6,500 owed by a garage in consultancy fees, but the debtor refuses to take responsibility for the writ. Del and Dael visit a woman who owes £3,700 in solicitor's fees, but are forced to take a risky gamble to secure payment.

7
"Episode 6"
1.72
19 October 2016

Stewart and Vic attend the property of a man who has defaulted on a payment plan, but the debtor's father becomes aggressive when the agents threaten to remove goods. Paul and Steve attempt to reclaim £45,000 owed by a man to his ex-wife, but discover that he has signed his current business over to his sister to prevent any assets being seized. Stewart and Iain call on a retiring optician to recover £4,500 owed to a supplier, but the debtor becomes abusive and claims he cannot make any form of payment. Steve and Ben attend the eviction of a young mother and child, and Steve is shocked when he discovers some of the worst living conditions he has ever seen.

8
"Episode 7"
1.77
26 October 2016

Stewart and Iain attempt to reclaim £3,500 owed by a builder to a customer for incomplete repair work, but find the debtor has no assets which could possibly offset the debt. Del and Dael head to Essex to recover £2,700 owed to a frozen food company, however the debtor initially refuses to confirm his identity and claims that he is in fact the debtor's brother. Stewart and Iain head to a farm in Wales to recover £2,500 owed to a supplier, but are forced to deal with the debtor's wife. Brian and Del attempt to find a man who has acted as guarantor on his friend's rental agreement, which has racked up more than £10,000 in rent arrears. However, they discover the debtor is on holiday in Nigeria.

9
"Episode 8"
1.93
5 October 2016

Del and Dael attempt to reclaim £1,900 owed by a young mum who has defaulted on a payment plan, but discover she has no assets they could possibly seize to offset the debt. Meanwhile, Gareth and Craig attempt to reclaim £45,000 owed by the director of an online clothing business to a former distributor, but are alarmed when on their second visit to the property, they find a stash of guns. Del and Dael visit an Indian takeaway owner who owes more than £22,000 in legal fees from a previous eviction, but when the debtor refuses to pay, they are forced to call upon Brian and Graham to help remove goods. Gareth and Craig visit a pensioner who owes £3,900 to a firm of solicitors.

10
"Episode 9"
1.78
12 October 2016

Gareth and Craig pursue the owner of a roofing business who owes £3,000 to a loan company, but on arrival at the property, the occupant denies the debtor lives at the property. Steve and Phil attend an eviction in South London, and find a family living in the back of a disused shop, which has been sub-let by the tenant. Gareth and Craig attend a farmhouse, where the debtor owes £5,700 in unpaid vets bills, but the debtor claims she has been making regular payments to the claimant – a fact which the agents discover is correct. Paul and Steve attempt to reclaim £30,000 owed by a dry cleaning business, but the proprietor claims he is broke, until Paul makes a shocking discovery.

11
"Episode 10"
1.9
2 November 2016

Paul and Ben attend the eviction of a mother and daughter from their flat, but discover their door has been reinforced with irresistible steel, which the locksmith is unable to drill through. Brian and Del call upon an East London garage to reclaim £7,000 to a dissatisfied customer, but find the business – and the customer's vehicle – in a state of disrepair. Paul and Steve attend an eviction where they find the occupants have been subletting from the tenant, not the landlord, but come up against a language barrier. Brian and Del call upon a woman who has acted as guarantor on her sister's tenancy agreement, but with her sister now £10,000 in arrears, is forced to take responsibility for the debt.

12
"Episode 11"
1.94
9 November 2016

Stewart, Iain, Paul, Steve and Ben attend a mass eviction of squatters from a disused nursery in South-West London, but come up against barricades, bolted doors and a number of angry residents. Gareth and Craig call upon a young mum who owes £6,500 in solicitor's bills, but she claims she has no assets that could possibly offset the debt. Paul and Steve attend the eviction of a mum and her two children, whose father has supposedly disappeared and left her with more than £6,000 of rent arrears. The woman disputes the eviction and claims she has repaid the landlord as he requested. Gareth and Craig head out in search of the director of a textiles business who owes £10,000.

13
"Episode 12: Can't Pay's Best Bits, Part 1"
1.48
16 November 2016

The first of four special episodes combining new and unforgettable past cases. Stewart and Vic attempt to reclaim £5,400 owed by a man that Vic has met before, but are forced to seize a vehicle when the debtor refuses to pay. They also look back on a case previously featured in Series 4, Episode 2, where they tried to reclaim £2,700 owed by the owner of a garage, but the situation became volatile, forcing Vic to call the police. Brian and Del visit a man who owes £150,000 – the biggest debt in the show's history – to a friend who lent him money for a business venture. Del also looks back on a case featured in Series 3, Episode 1, where he and Kevin were assaulted by a violent debtor.

14
"Episode 13: Can't Pay's Best Bits, Part 2"
1.16
23 November 2016

The second of four special episodes combining new and unforgettable past cases. Stewart and Vic attend the eviction of a single mother who owes £6,000 in rent to her landlord, but tensions soon become heated. Del looks back at a case previously featured in Series 5, Episode 1, where they tried to reclaim £3,500 owed by a man to a van rental business, but received death threats from the debtor's father. Stuart and Vic attempt to reclaim £6,000 owed in private school fees by a man and wife, but discover they no longer live together. Stuart looks back at a case featured in Series 4, Episode 1, where they were threatened by the boyfriend of a single mother they were bound to evict.

15
"Episode 14: Can't Pay's Best Bits, Part 3"
1.18
30 November 2016

The third of four special episodes combining new and unforgettable past cases. Stewart and Vic head to a phone shop whose proprietor owes £3,900 to a supplier. But when they discover the business has changed hands, the new owner threatens to break the law by returning goods which have been seized. Del looks back on a case from Series 5, Episode 4, where he and Dael visited the owner of an Indian takeaway who owe £3000. Brian and Dael attempt to reclaim £8,000 owed by a textiles business, but discover the company director is on holiday. Steve looks back on a case from Series 4, Episode 7, where he and three other agents carried out a mass eviction of travellers in Birmingham.

16
"Episode 15: Can't Pay's Best Bits, Part 4"
TBA
TBA

Paul and Steve make a dangerous discovery leading to them calling the police. Elsewhere, Stewart and Vic face a moral dilemma, and Paul and Steve hear a story that stops them in their tracks. This episode was due for broadcast on 7 December, but was pulled from schedule for reasons unknown.

text: Series 5 (2017-2018)[edit]

text: A fifth series was confirmed for broadcast shortly after the end of series four.[17] In this series, six new regular agents are introduced: Gary Brown, Garry Ball, Matthew Heighway, Cona Jackson, Michell Starr and Max Carracher. Agent Aron Graves also appears as a recurring member of the cast.[18] Returning cast members for this series include Paul Bohill, Steve Pinner, Ben Pinner, Stewart McCracken, Elmor Victor, Iain Taylor and Gareth Short, who made his debut appearance in the last series. Delroy Anglin also guest starred in one episode. Brian O'Shaughnessy, Dael Anglin and Craig Vernall will not be returning to the series.

text: The Radio Times initially confirmed that this series will contain a total of thirty episodes;[19] however, this subsequently increased to thirty-two; and a further ten episodes were later added to the schedule; bringing the final number of episodes to forty-two.[20] This series was split into three broadcast segments, with the first airing from March 22, 2017, the second airing from August 30, 2017 (with an additional two unplanned episodes broadcasting from November 8, 2017, replacing a planned broadcast of Big Family Values), and the third set to be broadcast in 2018.

text:
No. in
season
Title
Original air date
Viewers
(millions)

Part 1

1
"Episode 1"
22 March 2017
1.79

Gary and Cona are confronted by a knife-wielding debtor whilst attempting to recover £11,000 owed to a claims company. Garry and Matt visit a former professional footballer who owes £4,500, to confront him over a fake claim made to the agents that he could not pay the debt as he was suffering from terminal cancer. Gary and Cona chase a debt of £4,000 owed by a car dealer, but are given the runaround by the debtor and his friend as they try to identify which of them is the owner of two highly-lucrative vehicles. Garry and Matt uncover an arsenal of weapons, including knives, razor blades and meat cleavers as they try to evict a highly volatile tenant from his flat for non-payment of rent.

2
"Episode 2"
29 March 2017
2.21

Matt and Garry try to find a debtor who owes more than £2,000 in parking fines, but are met with a frosty reception by the tenants of the house he used to live in. Stewart and Vic take on one of the biggest cases of their careers when they confront a hotel owner who owes £80,000 to his former girlfriend. Although the debtor initially makes a £10,000 down payment, the agents are forced to return after no further payments are made against the debt. However, they are forced to call upon police assistance when it becomes apparent that the unstable debtor may have access to weapons. Later, they deal with a slippery garage owner who owes more than £2,000 to a customer for poor repair work.

3
"Episode 3"
5 April 2017
2.02

Gary and Cona confront the brother of a debtor who owes more than £1,700 for unpaid parking fines, but are forced to call for police backup when the man tries to attack Gary. Stewart and Vic try to reclaim £2,300 owed by a builder who is living on the verge of bankruptcy, but discover that he owns very little in the way of goods that could offset the debt. Later, they deal with a bankrupt debtor who tries to claim that he isn't liable for a debt incurred after his bankruptcy was declared, and later tries to blame the debt on his wife. Gary and Cona deal with a down-on-her-luck jeweller who owes more than £8,000 to a former employee, but discover that the debtor's stock has very little to no value.

4
"Episode 4"
12 April 2017
2.14

Max and Aron visit a car garage in Peterborough which owes £1,800 to a former customer, but are forced to call for police armed response when the debtor discharges a firearm at them. Paul and Steve later attend the same garage and end up dealing with another volatile employee. Matt and Iain attempt to recover a debt of £1,600 owed by an evasive young man in parking fines, and find themselves in the centre of a family crisis. Max and Paul try to reclaim a debt of £2,100 owed by a free-holding company, but are met with an agitated office manager who refuses to allow them entry into the property. As tensions begin to rise, Paul finds himself in a fight with a shutter door.

5
"Episode 5"
19 April 2017
2.13

Matt and Garry visit an Asian jeweller's shop in Northampton to collect a debt of over £12,000, but the situation turns volatile when the debtor assaults Garry and then manages to get an emergency court hearing in an attempt to get the writ set aside. Max and Steve visit a woman who owes more than £5,000 to her former landlord, and are forced to remove her only asset of any value. Matt and Garry meet a down-on-his-luck businessman on a Welsh farm who owes more than £6,000 in consultancy fees, and face the prospect of seizing and removing a boat. Max and Steve head to Romford to reclaim £12,000 owed by the town council and find themselves clamping the mayor's limousine.

6
"Episode 6"
26 April 2017
2.16

Max and Cona attempt to recover £2,300 owed by a man in unpaid parking fines, but face a rather unusual situation when the debtor ties his car to a tree in an attempt to prevent it being seized. Stewart and Vic call upon a couple who owe £3,900 in Nursery fees, but discover that they are living on the brink of bankruptcy. Max and Steve attend a church in Islington in an attempt to recover £8,100 in unpaid rent, but are forced to battle with a church pastor who becomes angry when a payment made to the agents fails to go through. Stewart and Vic attend a barber's shop in Bolton to recover £3,600 from a debtor who has defaulted on a payment plan, but are met with a frosty reception.

7
"Episode 7"
3 May 2017
2.12

Stewart and Vic attempt to recover £4,500 owed by the owner of a car parts business to a shipping company, but are faced with a hostile reception from his ex-wife, who claims he is no longer living at the address on the writ. Later, the agents return when the debtor defaults on a payment plan to clear the remainder of the unpaid balance. Steve and Max head to Islington, where they try to find a man who owes £2,100 in rent to a housing association, but on arrival at the property, are met with a man who refuses to confirm or deny that he is the debtor. Paul and Ben face a rather unusual eviction when they discover that the tenant is deaf mute, and that his nephew speaks very little English.

8
"Episode 8"
10 May 2017
2.25

Stewart and Iain's attempt to reclaim £5,500 from a potentially devious debtor is met with a tempered response from the debtor's brother-in-law, who threatens to assault Stewart. Matt and Garry meet a father in crisis who owes £9,000 after acting as a guarantor on his daughter's tenancy agreement. Stewart and Vic chase £6,000 owed by a woman to her former landlord in unpaid rent, but are faced with a barrage of abuse from her partner after it transpires the debtor is heavily pregnant. Matt and Garry chase a £4,000 debt owed by a woman to a loans company, and are suspicious when despite claims that she is unable to pay, the debtor has a stash of brand new white goods.

9
"Episode 9"
17 May 2017
2.07

Matt and Garry try to reclaim £13,000 owed by a garage to a dissatisfied customer, but despite police attendance from the outset, tempers flare and the agents find themselves caught up in the middle of a mass brawl. Gary and Cona attempt to reclaim £5,500 from a young debtor, but discover that the situation is much more complex than they first thought. Matt and Garry try to reclaim £1,600 owed to a car rental company but find that the debtor has no assets that could possibly offset the debt. Gary and Cona try to reclaim £1,700 from the former owner of a grocery shop, but are forced to escalate the case when the debtor plays hard ball, and then leaves his wife to deal with the situation.

10
"Episode 10"
24 May 2017
2.00

Matt and Garry attempt to reclaim a £3,000 deposit owed by a landlord to a former tenant, but are faced with an angry response from the debtor's brother. Max and Steve try to reclaim £9,000 from a debtor accused of sub-letting a former property in which he was a tenant, and subsequently failing to pay the landlord any rent, but Max is forced to escalate the case when the debtor refuses to pay. Matt and Garry attempt to make contact with a former nightclub owner who owes £25,000 to a former business associate, but Matt is flabbergasted to discover that the debtor is in fact his old boss. Paul and Max visit professional cyclist Bernard Kerr, who owes £3,500 to a van rental company.

11
"Episode 11"
31 May 2017
1.78

Matt and Garry visit a newsagent who owes more than £10,000 in false deposit fees, but despite claims that he is unable to pay, Garry finds a carrier bag stuffed with £7,000 in used notes. Stewart and Vic visit a woman who owes £4,500 in consultancy fees following a property dispute, but are met with a barrage of abuse from the debtor's ex. Matt and Garry visit a woman who owes £3,500 to a loan company, but find that the debt they are trying cover is just one in a long line. Stewart and Vic visit a beauty salon who owe £2,500 to a dissatisfied customer, but are met with a potentially volatile man who claims that the all of the equipment in the shop has been loaned by him and cannot be seized.

12
"Episode 12"
7 June 2017
1.83

Matt and Garry visit a man who owes £4,500 to a former girlfriend, but the situation becomes volatile when the debtor tries to assault Garry while Matt is out of the room. Gary and Cona visit a pensioner who owes £2,500 after signing as a guarantor for a loan taken out against the repairs on her son's car. Matt and Garry visit a man who owes more than £2,500 in unpaid parking fines, but are forced to escalate the case when the debtor proves evasive. Gary and Cona visit a taxi company who owe £3,000, but find that the director, who named on the writ, is in prison. However, they find leverage for payment when Gary discovers that cars owned by the company are being sold on Ebay.

13
"Episode 13"
14 June 2017
1.91

Gary and Cona chase a debt of £47,000 owed by a tenant to his former landlord, but the debtor initially refuses to accept responsibility for the debt and gives the agents a false identity. Del and Max head to a beauty salon who owe £10,000, but the owner claims that she is not trading as the company stated on the writ, despite Del and Max finding paperwork to the contrary. Max and Paul visit a down-on-his-luck film producer, whom Paul has met before, who owes £8,000 in consultancy fees. Paul and Gary are given the runaround when they visit a 19-year-old man who owes £2,500 to a garage in repair fees, as they try to gather information about the debt from his evasive mother.

14
"Episode 14"
21 June 2017
1.96

Paul and Max visit an estate agent who owes £5,500 to a dissatisfied customer. But when the debtor tries to damage the only asset of value that she has left, Paul and Max are forced to call the police. Matt and Garry visit an elderly debtor who owes £2,700 following a dispute with his neighbour over a rear garden wall, but decide not to enforce the writ on the grounds of the debtor's ill health and disability. Paul and Max try to locate the director of a letting agency who owes £2,200 to a former tenant. Matt and Garry visit a convenience store owner whom they have encountered before, who now owes £2,800 to one of his suppliers. But once again, the debtor proves to be evasive.

Part 2

15
"Episode 15"
30 August 2017
1.86

Max and Steve head to London to recover over £8,000 owed by former peer of the realm Lord Brocket to a firm of accountants, but find that he is away on holiday. Matt and Garry head to Coventry to chase £10,000 owed by a publican to a contractor. Although the property initially appears to be empty, Matt and Garry find an ingenious method of entry, and are surprised to be confronted by a surprised and angry landlord. Matt and Garry chase £18,000 owed to a desperate woman by a recruitment agency.

16
"Episode 16"
6 September 2017
1.76

Stewart and Vic head to Manchester to try to recover almost £2,400 from a company director for unpaid invoices, but face a fierce reception from a family who deny the debtor lives or trades from the address. Gary and Cona head to Kent to chase nearly £4,000 owed by a couple in unpaid rent on a previous tenancy.

17
"Episode 17"
13 September 2017
1.69

Max and Steve try to recover almost £2,000 owed by the owner of a bridal shop in London. Gary and Cona head to Kent to chase over £4,000 of vet fees after two neighbouring dogs got into a fight. Max and Paul head to South-West London to collect almost £11,500 owed by a small business.

18
"Episode 18"
20 September 2017
1.51

Max and Paul head to central London to recover almost £1,900 owed in parking fines. Stewart and Vic chase over £2,200 owed by a scrap yard owner to a shipping company. Steve, Max and Ben find themselves caught in the middle of a bitter dispute during a landlord and his tenant during a particularly difficult eviction, and are surprised when they are forced to return to evict the same tenant from the same property three months later. Stewart and Vic head to Merseyside to recover over £3,500 owed by a publishing company to an unhappy ex-employee.

19
"Episode 19"
27 September 2017
1.45

Stewart and Vic chase over £1,500 of unpaid parking fines in Manchester, but find themselves in the middle of a family dispute. Matt and Garry face a threatening situation when they try to reclaim a debt owed by a couple in unpaid nursery fees. Stewart and Vic head to Lancashire to recover over £3,000 owed by a garage to a dissatisfied customer. Matt and Garry head to the West Midlands to reclaim £1,600 owed by a takeaway owner to a car hire company.

20
"Episode 20"
4 October 2017
1.35

Matt and Garry head to the West Midlands to chase £1,700 owed by an accountant to a client. Max and Paul visit North-West London try to recover almost £30,000 owed in rent arrears by a dentist after he was barred from working. Max and Steve head to South-West London to chase almost £2,000 owed by a café owner.

21
"Episode 21"
11 October 2017
1.45

Stewart and Iain head to Manchester to recover one of the largest debts they have ever chased – more than £400,000 – owed to a builder after he failed to receive payment for his work on a house. Gary and Cona head to Kent to chase over £11,000 owed by a couple in unpaid rent. Stewart and Vic lead to Lancashire to collect a debt owed by an accountant for unpaid parking fines.

22
"Episode 22"
8 November 2017
1.25

Max and Steve head to London to try and recover over £21,000 in unpaid court costs after a car accident, while Aron and Iain are in Middlesex chasing nearly £4,000 after the organiser of a music festival refused to pay a supplier. Elsewhere, Aron and Cona team up to recover almost £7,000 owed after a debtor failed to repay a loan to her ex-partner.
This episode was scheduled for broadcast on 18 October, but was not broadcast until 8 November.

Part 3

23
"Episode 23"
2018 (2018)
TBD

The current listings description of this episode is identical to Episode 22. The actual content of this episode will be available after broadcast.
This episode was scheduled for broadcast in 8 November 2017, but has not yet been broadcast.[21]

24
"Episode 24"
2018 (2018)
TBD

The current listings description of this episode is identical to Episode 38. The actual content of this episode will be available after broadcast.
This episode was scheduled for broadcast in 15 November 2017, but has not yet been broadcast.[22]

25
"Episode 25"
2018 (2018)
TBD

The current listings description of this episode is identical to Episode 33. The actual content of this episode will be available after broadcast.

26
"Episode 26"
2018 (2018)
TBD

27
"Episode 27"
2018 (2018)
TBD

28
"Episode 28"
2018 (2018)
TBD

29
"Episode 29"
2018 (2018)
TBD

30
"Episode 30"
2018 (2018)
TBD

31
"Episode 31"
2018 (2018)
TBD

32
"Episode 32"
18 October 2017
1.60

Gareth and Mitch find themselves in rural Wales chasing a debtor who owes £1,750 in multiple parking fines. Later, they find themselves on the trail of a tanning salon owner who owes more than £10,000.
This episode was not due for broadcast until 2018, but broadcast in place of Episode 22.

33
"Episode 33"
15 November 2017
1.15

Max and Steve visit an east London restaurant whose owner owes £7,000 to his gas supplier. Gareth and Mitch try to get £3,000 from a car wash owner after a customer's car was damaged. Max and Steve assist a dissatisfied customer who is owed £4,000 from a second-hand car dealer. Stewart and Vic visit a shutters and blinds shop in Manchester who owe more than £5,000 to a dissatisfied customer.
This episode was not due for broadcast until 2018, but broadcast following the rescheduled broadcast of Episode 22.

34
"Episode 34"
29 March 2018 (2018-03-29)
1.25

Gary and Cona visit a young woman who owes £1,700 in unpaid parking fines, but discover her ex-partner is responsible for the debt. When he slashes the tyres on their van, Gary is forced to call the police. Matt and Garry meet a grandmother in shock at the size of her debt, which stands at more than £38,000 after accumulating ten years of interest. Gary and Cona head to a garage to recover a debt of over £3,500, but are shocked when they discover vehicles they seized two days ago have disappeared from the company forecourt. Matt and Garry attempt to recover £6,500 owed by a woman in Birmingham in nursery fees, and are shocked to discover she is training to be a special constable.

35
"Episode 35"
5 April 2018 (2018-04-05)
1.81

Gareth and Mitch head to Cardiff to collect £2,500 in unpaid parking fines, but are met with an unusual situation when they find a car on the debtor's driveway bearing false plates. Matt and Garry try to collect £16,000 from a couple in unpaid rent, and stumble across a potentially valuable collection of designer watches. Gareth and Mitch head to Wiltshire to collect £2,200 from a debtor for unpaid rent on a garage, but find he wants to simply wants to argue about the right and wrongs of the case rather than try to clear the debt. Matt and Garry try to collect nearly £6,000 from a debtor in unpaid rent, and are surprised when the debtor's neighbour offers a payment to help him clear the debt.

36
"Episode 36"
12 April 2018 (2018-04-12)
1.60

Stewart and Vic carry out the eviction of a tenant who owes more than £8,000 in rent arrears, and arrive to find the property in a state of disrepair. Matt and Garry attempt to reclaim just over £2,500 from the landlady of a pub in unpaid rent on a former business, but discover that the pub is on the verge of going bust. Stewart and Iain try to reclaim £4,300 owed to a dissatisfied customer by a garage owner, but are given the runaround by the debtor's mother, until Iain overhears a conversation regarding an envelope full of cash. Matt and Garry try to reclaim nearly £10,000 owed to a finance company by an elusive debtor, only to find him hiding under the bed an hour after they first arrived.

37
"Episode 37"
19 April 2018 (2018-04-19)
1.74

Stewart and Vic try to reclaim nearly £4,000 from an angry debtor who made a promise to clear his debt within 24 hours of their initial visit - but hasn't paid a penny since. Matt and Garry meet a man who owes £10,000 to a finance company for his car, and discover that he is out of work and has amassed more than £14,000 in other outstanding debts. Stewart and Vic visit a landlord who owes £4,900 to his former tenants, who is in denial about his debt. After receiving a barrage of abuse from one of the debtor's neighbours, Stewart is surprised when an offer of full payment is made. Gareth and Mitch head to Swindon to find a kitchen fitter who owes more than £2,000 to an unhappy customer.

38
"Episode 38"
26 April 2018 (2018-04-26)
1.68

Gareth and Mitch head to north Devon with a writ to recover more than £8,000 owed by a dissatisfied customer to a supplier of windows and doors, but the case takes an unexpected turn when paramedics are called for the debtor's elderly mother. In Nottingham, Stewart and Vic carry out the eviction of a tenant who has overstayed his agreement, and meet the landlord who wants his property back after months of rent arrears and alleged anti-social behaviour. Gareth and Mitch visit a debtor in denial who owes just under £2,000 for an unpaid invoice to a supplier of windows and doors. Stewart and Vic visit a single parent who owes more than £5,000 in unpaid parking fines.

39
"Episode 39"
3 May 2018 (2018-05-03)
1.55

Matt and Garry visit a couple who owe £6,500 in unpaid nursery fees, but find themselves dealing with an evasive debtor who even tries to remove his goods to a neighbouring property to stop them from being seized. Gary and Cona visit a man who owes £3,300 to a finance company, and find that despite his claims that he isn't able to pay, has a very expensive car sitting on his driveway. Matt and Garry visit a man who owes £2,100 to a garage owner for work completed on a faulty car, but find the debtor is more interested in settling the score with violence rather than confronting his debt. Gary and Cona force entry to a property to remove goods belonging to a debtor who owes more than £11,000.

40
"Episode 40"
10 May 2018 (2018-05-10)
TBD

Matt and Garry try to locate a debtor in Wolverhampton who owes more than £2,000 in parking fines, but his family claim he is currently living back in the Czech Republic, despite Garry finding evidence to the contrary. Stewart and Iain visit a woman who owes £1,800 to a vetinary surgery after she refused to pay them, claiming they misdiagnosed her dog. Max and Paul seeking out a former company director who owes more than £5,000 in court costs after being barred from being a company director for misselling assets. Stewart and Vic visit a debtor and her daughter who owe more than £10,000 in accumulated parking fines, but discover the fines were incured by the debtor's grandson.

41
"Episode 41"
17 May 2018 (2018-05-17)
TBD

Gary and Paul try to track down the directors of a company operating a village pub who owe more than £2,300 to an electricity supplier, but are caught in the middle of a bitter dispute between the pub landlord and her son. Stewart and Vic attend an eviction in Liverpool where they must not only evict the tenant, but must also try to collect more then £4,000 in unpaid rent arrears. Gary and Cona find themselves chasing a debt of more than £83,000 accrued by five siblings in a drawn out legal battle over their late father's will. Max and Paul attend an East London butcher's shop to collect £1,700 owed to a former supplier, but are given the runaround by the new owners of the business.

42
"Episode 42"
2018 (2018)
TBD